The Viola and Garry Kappy Anne Frank Tree Exhibit and Garden

In 2009, the Holocaust Memorial Center was honored to have been selected as one of only eleven sites in the United States to receive a sapling from the tree that grew outside Anne Frank’s hiding place. During her nearly two years in hiding, her exposure to the outside world was limited to what she could see outside her window. “From my favorite spot on the floor, I look up at the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree, on whose branches little raindrops shine, appearing like silver,” she wrote in 1944. “When I looked outside right into the depth of nature and God, then I was happy, really happy.” Watching the chestnut tree cycle through the seasons offered Anne hope that one day humanity also would have another chance.

Anne Frank’s tree has reached the end of its 150-year lifespan, but it will live on through saplings planted around the world, including one at the HMC. The HMC's sapling will grow in a specially designed and secure garden on the campus. Visitors will see and experience the sapling from inside the museum as part of a new exhibit about Anne Frank.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.